Country statues turned out to be ancient Egyptian artifacts

Summer residents from England sold two garden sphinx statues at the Manders auction in the small English town of Sudbury for 195 thousand pounds (about 20 million rubles). It is reported by the East Anglian Daily Times.

The garden statues turned out to be ancient Egyptian artifacts that are 5 thousand years old. The statues were bought by the former owners at a sale for several hundred pounds and have stood in the garden as decoration for 15 years. Summer residents believed that the sphinxes are only a copy and cost almost nothing. They wanted to get rid of the statues when they moved, so they turned to an auction.

“We were contacted by a local family who was relocating and wanted to recycle many of the items that were not suitable for their new home,” said auctioneer James Mander.

According to the East Anglian Daily Times, the sphinxes are in poor worn condition. They are missing various details. Past owners have even tried to renovate the statues with concrete.

Despite the poor condition, the sphinxes were bought at auction by an international auction gallery.